For a political candidate, the most important thing to have in an election is a message. Donald Trump doesn’t have one. In 2016, he did. As dishonest as it was, “Make America Great Again” was a brilliant political slogan. It suggested, without explicitly saying it, that America was no longer what it had been. It…
Cutting-edge techniques the first step toward understanding heart disease and developing new targeted treatments to stop it
Scientists have for the first time documented all of the different cell types and genes expressed in the healthy human heart, in research published recently in the journal Nature. Cardiologists from the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute at the University of Alberta joined teams from Cambridge, Boston and Berlin to use state-of-the-art analytical techniques to sequence the ribonucleic acids (RNA)…
The image of the hip and virtuous leader that some media and voters hold of our prime minister is not what leaders of other nations see
After boastfully declaring that he would enhance Canada’s place on the international scene, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau failed in his bid to secure a United Nations Security Council seat. Canada’s place in the world has been effectively eroded under his watch. Foreign policy matters, so Trudeau is right in drawing attention to it in his…
But range anxiety remains an issue if you want to use this electric car for longer trips
In California, they recently introduced an amendment that will make it illegal to sell or purchase new fossil-fuel-powered automobiles after 2035. You will apparently still be able to buy a used gas-powered car, but in California the writing is on the wall when it comes to conventional internal combustion engine vehicles. Battery-powered cars are certainly…
Most entrepreneurs build a business without a clear concept of what they’re building, the systems they need and where the profit comes from
I had a video meeting last week with woman whom we will call Sally. Sally was meeting to talk about her business, which she had started a couple of years ago. At one point in the conversation, Sally said she was making $2,000 a month but needed to make $5,000 from the business. Luckily for…
Understanding how the conditionally approved COVID-19 drug works is key to improving treatments, says U of A researcher
Researchers at the University of Alberta have discovered a novel, second mechanism of action by the antiviral drug remdesivir against SARS-CoV-2, according to findings published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry. The research team previously demonstrated how remdesivir inhibits the COVID-19 virus’s polymerase or replication machinery in a test tube. Matthias Götte, chair of medical microbiology and immunology…
How to make your DIY photo shoot a success and, most importantly, give you some amazing images to use to grow your business
Photos are an important part of any social media feed. And along with stock photos, you need to incorporate some photos of you, your team, your product, your office, etc. If you aren’t in a position to hire a photographer every quarter, you are going to have to do the photo shoot yourself. That means…
Disturbances by humans or nature change the balance of fungi in soil, potentially making it harder for seedlings to regenerate
Disturbances can hit Alberta’s lodgepole pine forests hard – including life under the soil, new University of Alberta research shows. Fungal communities that nourish pine tree roots are being altered by both human-made and natural disturbances, which can stress forests and make it tougher for pine seedlings to regenerate, said Jean Rodriguez Ramos, a PhD…
“We are witnessing America as a failed social experiment,” Ivy League philosopher Cornel West has said. West is not alone in this assessment. Numerous scholars are expressing similar concerns, including University of British Columbia professor Wade Davis, who recently published The Unraveling of America in Rolling Stone magazine. Are we really seeing the end of…
Getting too much vitamin D can also cause health problems, says U of A pediatric kidney specialist
At the beginning of May, a pair of studies emerged suggesting people who are deficient in vitamin D are more likely to experience serious health complications if infected with COVID-19. Sales of the micronutrient soared as a scared public tried to gain any advantage they could over the virus. Unfortunately, University of Alberta pediatrics professor Todd…
Richard Nixon and Pat Moynihan had a plan to end poverty. In the end, it was far too complicated, and languished and died
Whether it’s called a guaranteed annual income or a universal basic income, this currently fashionable idea isn’t new. And the fact that it hasn’t happened yet is a tipoff to the associated complexities. One of the earliest proponents was an American right-winger. In 1962’s Capitalism and Freedom, libertarian economist Milton Friedman proposed what he called…
It’s high time to evaluate the possibility of a guaranteed minimum income, for greater financial equity for all
Every month, Statistics Canada reminds us that life is getting more expensive. But for food, the situation has been unique over the last few decades. Based on numbers released recently, the price of a typical grocery basket has increased by about 240 per cent since 2000. Some will think such a percentage is expected, given…
COVID-19 concerns could open parents’ eyes to the crucial benefits of kitchen-table learning
David is the father of three children. While pushing his kids on the swings at his local park in Ottawa, he confesses to other parents at the playground that he’s concerned about putting his kids back in school because of COVID-19. However, he’s also worried about keeping them home in case they fall behind. The…
Pandemic inspires University of Alberta innovation in emergency and critical care
A potential need sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic has inspired an Edmonton team of clinicians and academics to build a better cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) board for use in emergency departments and intensive care units (ICUs). Because of COVID-19’s attack on the lungs, many patients in emergency departments and intensive care are placed on their bellies…
According to reports, the Trudeau government may unveil a national pharmacare program in Wednesday’s throne speech in Ottawa. The program may be based on last year’s Hoskins’ report, which recommended an expensive top-down Medicare-style approach that would artificially set drugs prices, restrict patient choice and limit private alternatives. Not only would such a program drive…